Apparatus for orienting and accumulating elongated articles



Oct. 23, 1945.

TI-CLES R. CLARK ETAL APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING AND ACCUMUI JATINGELONGATED AR Filed July 15, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 23, 1945. A. R.CLARK ETAL.

APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING AND ACCUMULATING ELQNGATED ARTICLES Filed July15, 1944- 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. E45, R. CLARK ET AL. 238735 APFARATUSFOR QRIENTING AND ACCUMULA'I'ING ELONGATED ARTICLES S'Sheets-Slmet 3Filed July 15, 1944 Patented Oct. 23, 1945 APPARATUS FOR ORIENTING ANDAC- CUMULATING ELONGATED ARTICLES Robert Clark, Fauna, and HenryR.Patterson,

Shaker Heights, Ohio, assignors'to The American Steel and Wire Companyof New Jersey, a corporation of New Jersey Application July 15, 1944,Serial No. 545,176 I 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for orientingand accumulating elongated articles in orderly parallel relation as theyare successively ejected from the machine which produces them.

While not limited thereto, the invention is peculiarly well suited forthe accumulation of foundry pins, which are in the nature of shortstraight lengths of steel wire pointed on both ends. The users offoundry pins require that they be packed in parallel relation to oneanother so as to facilitate their later removal from shipping boxes andtheir ultimate handling by foundrymen. Heretofore it has been the customto pack such double-pointed foundry pins in cardboard boxes by hand, butsuch initial packaging has been a slow, laborious and hazardousoccupation, since the pins have been ejected in random fashion from themachine which points their ends. Such pins have heretofore merely fallenat random from the machine producing them into a, pan, and the pointshave thus extended haphazardly in all directions. The removal of suchdouble-pointed pins from the pans by hand and the arranging of them inparallel relation prior to shipment in boxes has therefore been a slowand hazardous process in which the fingers of operators have beenfrequently cut and pricked.

The present invention provides improved means for orienting each pin asit is ejected from the.

machin for pointing them, and for, guiding the pins to a container andagitating them therein so as to insure that each batch of theaccumulated pins is maintained in horizontal position and parallel tothe other batches. Thus the accumulated pins can be removed from thecontainer in orderly parallel batches and can be easily, safely andquickly placed in small cardboard or other suitable boxes for shipmentto the customer.

The invention will be fully apparent. from a consideration of thefollowing detailed disclosure, the accompanying drawings, and theappended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a general view, partly in elevation and partly in section,showing somewhat diagrammatically the elements of a nail machine whichis well adapted for severing and pointing pins, the view illustratingthe coordination with such nail machine of the pin orienting andaccumulating apparatus embodying the herein claimed invention.

Figure 2 is a section on the staggered line IIII of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is ,a vertical section on line III-III of Figure 1. p

Figure4 isa' side, elevation of the parts shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a perspective detail view showing I the chief componentpartsiof the mechanism for engaging and disengaging the split nut from.the lead screw which propels the container-supporting carriage. f

Referring in detail to the drawings, I0 represents a frame member of. aconventional .form of nail making machine provided with any conventionalform of Wire feeding grippers l2 actuated by suitable cam-operated meansin a manner well known to those skilled in the art and therefore notfurther illustrated herein. The nail machine is equipped withconventional pinch dies I l which'holdv the wire or rod-like stock S. Aseach predetermined increment'of stock is longitudinally advanced,pointing dies l6 -l6 are moved by suitable cam-actuating mechanism byconventional means, so as tosever the stock simultaneously and point thepins in a manner well known to those skilledin the art and therefore notfurther illustrated. As each increment of advanced wire or rod stock issevered and pointed, the resulting article, which in the caseillustrated is a foundry pin, fallsendwise and drops in a substantiallyvertical direction into a guide member l8 whose upright walls 20converge downwardly. The upper dimension of, the guide '18, as viewed inFigure 1, is approximately equal to the greatest length of foundry pinor other elongated article ejected by the nail-making. type ofprocessing machine illustrated. As the stock is severed, the articledrops endwise, as shown in dotted lines aa in Figure 1. A top guard 22is provided to prevent the accidental upward throwout of pins in. theevent that the pointcutting dies [6 fail to function properly, the guardbeing secured to a top cross member 24 forming part of the pointing ornail making machine. The guide 18 has a suspension member 26 secured toits upper end, the upper portion of which is bent at a right angle andsecured to the member 24 by a bolt 28.

the positions of the pins indicated at a in Figure 3. As thethus-oriented pins a leave the lower extremity 34 of the chute 32, theyenter a substantially horizontal funnel-like member 36 which has securedthereto a bracket 38 fastened to any fixed support. An elongated outletorifice 40 is formed near one end of the funnel-like member 36 so thatas .the'pins traveling therethrough reach the end thereof they fall.through said out- The outlet end of the funnel-like. member .36

projects into the restricted throat portion '42 oh 9. collecting bootindicated as a whole at 44, which is supported by bracket members. .46carried by.

boot is a fixed baflle 54 whose lower end is curvedas indicated at 56and terminates at 58 a short distance from the inner face 60 of anoscillating" member 62 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 64. The upperend of the oscillating member 62 has a bent extension 66 perforated toreceive a downwardly-projecting finger 68 formed on the end of a pitmanrod 10 connected to a crankpin 12 secured to a disc 14 carried by ashaft 16. The shaft 16 carries a sprocket 18 which isconnected by achain80 with a sprocket 82 carried by the main drive shaft 84 of the pinpointing machine. Thisshaft 84 carries tight and loose pulleys 86 and 88and a flywheel 90, and drives suitable conventional means known to thoseskilled in the art, for actuating the feeding grippers I2, pinch diesI4, and the pointing dies I6,

The lower portion of the collecting boot 44 projects into an elongatedbox-like container or tote box 92 which is adapted to accumulate theorientedpins and maintain them in horizontal orderly condition parallelto one another. Improved means are provided for automatically moving thetote box or container 92 as the pins gradually accumulate therein and tokeep the mass of pins in the upper region of the container gentlyagitated so as to straighten out any of the pins which tend to move outof parallelism, the lading portion of the container being maintainedsubstantially filled with pins and the container being fed constantlyaway from th fixed collecting boot. To these ends the container or totebox 92 is supported on a carriage 94 slidable on guides 96 carried byframe members 48. Secured to the carriage is a depending plate 98 havingguide slots I therein (shown best in Figure for coaction with actuatingpins I02 carried. by split nut member I04 threaded at I06 for coactionwith a feed screw I08. The pins I02 of the split nut pass through camslots IIO formed in a feed control disc H2 having an actuating handleII4 secured thereto. The feed screw-passes freely through openings H6and H8 respectively, formed in the disc I I2 and plate 98. As thuarranged, when the disc H2 is turned in one direction, the split nutmembers I04 will be operatively engaged with the feed screw I08, andwhen turned in the opposite direction they will be disengaged from thescrew. Such engagement and disengagement is desirable to permit theoperator to readily retract the carriage after the container has becomefully loaded,

and to facilitate the mounting of a new empty container thereon andpermit positioning the carriage and the empty container in such a waythat the fixed rear upright wall I20 of the container is spaced closelyadjacent the upright edge I22 of the boot 44. The forward wall I24 ofthe container constitutes a gate which. i pivotally let orifice in asubstantially horizontal position. 1. L

mounted on a pintle I26, and said gate is held releasably in closedposition by latch dogs I28 pivoted at I30 and pulled downwardly bysprings I32, the dogs engaging latch members I34 secured to the upperportion of the gate.

As shown in Figure 4, under normal operating conditions'the pins ejectedfrom'the dies of the nail making type of pointing machine substantiallyfill the space between the oscillating member 62 and the baffle member54, and similar pins also fill the lower portion of the boot and thelading portion of the container to a level near the top edge of thelatter. It is important, when changing containers, to maintain the bootsubstantially filled. To this end we provide a tem- After suchengagement, a similar keeper plate I42 will be inserted through a slotI44 formed in the bottom wall of the container 92, so as to prevent thepins from gravitating out of parallelism with oneanother. While the pinsare being accumulated in the container 92, the pivoted end gate I24 isin its substantially horizontal position. In this position its free endengages the plate 98 secured to the supporting carriage. 4

The feed screw I08 is reduced in diameter at one extremity, as indicatedat I46, so as to have freedom for rotation and longitudinal movement ina bearing I48 secured to a bracket I50 carried by the base plate 52. Atits opposite end the feed screw is connected by a shaft-coupling I52with a stub shaft I54 having a worm wheel I56 secured thereto whichmeshes with a worm I58 forming part of a speed reduction unit indicatedas a whole at I60. This speed reduction unit is slidable in guides I62and is adapted to be adjusted by manipulation of a handwheel I64 securedto an adjusting screw I66 threaded through an upright standard I68 andhaving a swivel connection with a bracket I10 secured to the reductionunit. The supporting shaft I12 for the worm I56 carries a V-groovedpulley I14 which is driven by a V-belt I16 from a V-grooved pulleyformed of two complementary coacting parts I18 and I80, constituting avariable speed drive, the part I being spring-loaded and adapted to bemanually adjusted toward the part I18 so as to vary the efiectivedriving diameter of the pulley and permit of precision adjustment of thedriving speed to suit the rate at which the pins are accumulated in thecontainer. The complementary parts I18 and I80 of the adjustable pulleyare mounted on the shaft 16 carried by suitable bear ings I84,.the partI18 being fixed to the shaft 16 and the part I 80 being rotatable withthe shaft but splined thereto to permit adjustment toward and from thepart I18; The shaft 16, as above described, carries the sprocket 18which is connected by a chain 86 with the sprocket 82 secured to theshaft 84.

In the normal operation of the mechanism shown and described, it isapparent that a pin pointing machine closely resembling a conventionaltype nail making machine intermittently advances short increments ofwire or rod-like stock. Periodically the pinch dies I4 grip eachadvanced increment, whereupon the pointing dies I6 come into play andsimultaneously sever and point the trailing end of a previously advancedincrement and leading end of the oncoming increment. Upon completion ofthe severing and pointing operation, each double-pointed pin, indicatedat 0,, falls in rapid succession into the upper end of the guide I8whose walls 20-20 converge: downwardly sov as to compel the pins. totravel endwise in a generally vertical downward direction. From thelower extremity of the guide IS. the pins successively enter the arcuatechute 32 which orients them from a generally vertical direction to asubstantiall horizontal direction. From the orienting chute 32 the pinsenter the substantially horizontal funnel-like member 36 and dropthrough the outlet orifice 40 thereof into the space between the baffle56 and the oscillating'member 42 located in the restricted throatportion 42 of the collecting boot 44. In starting the collecting andorienting operation, the keeper plate I36 is inserted through theregistering openings I38 and I 40 of the boot, so that a mass of nailsis initially collected, approximately filling the boot to the top level,as indicated in Figure 4. The container 92 is initially positioned sothat the upright outer wall end I20 thereof is in close proximity to therear edge I22 of the boot, whereupon the keeper plate I36 is withdrawn.Immediately thereafter the mass of oriented substantially parallelhorizontal pins in the boot moves down the inclined or arc-shaped bottomwall thereof and into contact with the upright wall I20 of thecontainer.

While the. machine is in operation, the oscillatingmember 62 agitatesthe mass of pins in the upper regions of the collecting boot and thecontainer. The feed screw, through the driving mechanism described,slowly and gradually feeds the carriage so as to move the rear wall 28of the container away from the boot at a rate commensurate with that atwhich the pins are discharged by the pointing machine. In this way alarge batch of pins is collected in an orderly and methodical manner,without danger of their being moved out of parallelism with one another.The transverse width of the box-like or hollow prismatie container isslightly greater than the length of the double-pointed pins. Thecontainer is of considerable length, being of a size adapted toaccumulate, for example. a single batch of fifty or sixty pounds ofpins. Upon the accumulation of such a batch, the operator inserts thekeeper .bar !36 in the boot so as. to retain the same substantiallyfilled, and inserts another plate I42 down through the mass of nails andengages it with the slot lid in the bottom of the container so as toprevent them from falling out endwise when the container is lifted offthe carriage 94. After the container has been lifted from the carriage,the end gate I24 is swung to the vertical position of Figure 1, in whichposition it is held b the latch dogs I28 engaging the bars I34. Theplate I42 may then be removed slowly, permitting the pins to gravitateuntil they contact the closed end gate I24. The container will then betransported to a packaging department, whereupon the pins can be liftedout in small batches by hand or the end closure gate I24 can be swungdownwardly and the container tilted so as to permit the parallel pins toflow by gravity into a suitable cardboard or other container. Thus thedouble-pointed pins can be quickly, easily, and safely packed forshipping in an orderly, parallel horizontal position, which is theposition in which the users of foundry pins usually specify that they bemade available. While the described mechanism is peculiarly well suitedfor the orienting and accumulating of double-pointed pins, it will beunderstood that it is also well suited for accumulating and orientingvarious elongated straight pinor nail-like articles with or withoutheads or points on one or both ends.

While we have described with great particularity an embodiment of theinvention which an actual reduction to practice has demonstrated to behighly advantageous, it is to be understood that various modificationsand substitutions of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the artwithout departure from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for orienting and accumulating elongated articles as theyare ejected from a machine which has acted upon them, comprising anupright guide into which the articles are ejected and along which theyare adapted to travel endwise in an approximately vertical direction,orienting means for changing the travel of the articles to asubstantially horizontal direction, a member for receiving articles fromthe latter and having a substantially horizontal elongated outlet in thebottom thereof, an article-accumulating boot having a throat portionbelow said outlet and adapted to receive articles as they fall bygravity therethrough, a container into which said boot projects, meansfor agitating the articles in the throat. portion of said boot and inthe upper regions of said boot and container, and means for movablysupporting the container.

2. Apparatus for orienting and accumulating elongated articles as theyare ejectedfrom a machine which has acted upon them, comprising anupright guide into which the articles are elected and alcngz'which theyare adapted to travel endwise in an approximately vertical direction,orienting means for changing the travel of. the articles to. asubstantially horizontal direction, a, member for receiving articlesfrom the latter and having a substantially horizontal elongated outletin the bottom thereof, an article accumulating boot having a throatportionbelow said-outlet and adapted to receive articles as they fall bygravity therethrough, a container into which said boot projects, meansfor agitatin'gthe articles in the throat portion of said boot and in theupper regions of said boot and container, a carriagefor supporting thecontainer, and means for gradually moving it and the container away fromthe boo-t as the articles accumulate in the container.

3. Apparatus for orienting and accumulating elongated double-pointedpins as they are ejected from a machine for pointing the ends thereof,comprising a downwardly-converging guide into which the pins are ejectedand along which they are adapted to successively travel endwise in anapproximately vertical direction, a curved chute for changing theendwise travel of the pins to a substantially horizontal direction, amember receiving pins from said chute and having a substantiallyhorizontal elongated outlet in the bottom thereof through which the pinsare adapted to successively drop by gravity, a pin-accumulating boo-thaving a throat portion below said outlet and adapted to receivetheipins as they fall therethrough, a container into which the bootprojects,,an oscillating member and a baffle plate coacting therewithlocated in said throat portion past which each pin falls by gravitywhile en route to said container, a movable support for the container,and means for gradually feeding the support and the container away fromthe boot as the pins are accumulated in parallel horizontal relation toone another in the container.

4. Apparatus for orienting and accumulating elongated articles as theyare ejected from a machine which has acted upon them, comprising anupright downwardly-tapering guide into which the articles areejected andalong which they are adapted to fall endwise in an approximatelyvertical direction, an arcuate quadrant-like chute connecting with thelower end of said guide and adapted to receive articles therefrom insubstantially vertical position and discharge them in substantiallyhorizontal position, a funnel-like member adjacent the discharge end ofsaid arcuate chute and having a substantially horizontal outlet in itsunder side, a fixed collecting boot having a restricted throat portionpositioned to receive articles falling from said member through saidoutlet, a' container into which said boot projects, and means foragitating the articles in said throat portion of said boot and the upperregion of said container so as to maintain the articles substantially inhorizontal parallel relation to one another as they are accumulated insaid container.

5. Apparatus for orienting and accumulating elongated articles as theyare ejected from a machine which has acted upon them, comprising acontainer, means for gradually reedingthe latter in a substantiallyhorizontal plane, a normally fixed collecting boot having an inclinedbottom portion projecting into said container, said boot having arestricted inlet throat portion, an upright movable member and anupright fixed plate whose lower extremity converges toward said member,and means for oscillating said member so as to agitate the articles inthe throat portion of said boot and in the upper regions of said bootand container and thus insure that the successively fed articlesaccumulated in said container are maintained in substantially parallelhorizontal relation to one another.

6. In combination with means for intermittently delivering pin-likearticles in succession in horizontal position, an apparatus foraccumulating said articles, comprising an upright guide into which thearticles are ejectedand along which they are adapted to travel endwisein an approximately vertical direction, means for changing the travel ofthe articles to a substantially horizontal direction, a member forreceiving articles from the latter and having a substantially horizontalelongated outlet in the bottom thereof, an articleaccumulating boothaving a throat portion below said outlet and adapted to receivearticles as they fall by gravity therethrough, a container into whichsaid, boot projects, means for agitating the articles in the throatportion of said boot and in the upper regions of the boot and container,and means formovably supporting the container.

7. The combination With means for delivering elongated articles insuccession in horizontal position, of a collecting member having arestricted throat portion to receive said articles, means foragitatingthe articles contained in said throat portion, ahorizontally-disposed box-like container into which said collectingmember extends, the bottom wall of said member being inclined andterminating substantially at the plane of the inner face of the bottomhorizontal wall of the container, means for gradually feeding thecontainer away from the collecting member, and means for Varying therate of feed of said feeding means so as to coordinate the feed withprecision to the rate at which articles are accumulated in thecontainer, whereby the lading portion of the container between thecollecting member and the upright end Wall remote from said member iskept substantially filled to capacity with articles disposed inhorizontal parallel relation. to one another.

8. The combination with means for delivering elongated articles insuccession in substantially horizontal position, of a collecting memberhaving a restricted throat portion to receive said articles, means foragitating the articles contained in said throat portion, ahorizontally-disposed box-like container into which said collectingmember extends, the bottom wall of sai collecting member being inclinedand terminating substantiallyat the plane of the inner face of thehorizontal bottom wall of the container, a carriage on which thecontainer is mounted, mechanism for feeding the carriage gradually awayfrom said collecting members including a speed reduction unit, andvariable speed driving means transmitting motion to said reduction unit.

ROBERT CLARK. HENRY R. PATTERSON.

